Yann Toma Explained

Yann Toma born in 1969 in is both an artist and a researcher, the lifelong president of the company Ouest-Lumière and an artist-observer within the UN, where he sits as an entrepreneurial artist.With projects always anchored in a societal context, Yann Toma's fundamental idea is to rebuild the link. Connecting with ourselves, our collective memory, and the transforming power generated by the mass, art is used here as a means of materializing energy flows but also as an energy in its own right.

Yann Toma is a French contemporary artist and a researcher. He positions his work and his reflection on the border of the artistic expression, always involved in political and social events. Toma places the artist as responsible for social debate. As a mediator he can invite people to get involved, to take part of a collaborative energy.Toma collaborates with entreprises, political scientists as well as philosophers. By salvaging material from former electric power company Ouest-Lumière in the early 1990s, he has appropriated a symbolic network, an industrial infrastructure which he turned into his research territory and the very matter of his activity. Toma, president for life of Ouest Lumière, is also an artist-observer within the U.N where he sits as an entrepreneurial artist.

Artistic energy

Toma developed the concept of artistic energy. He appropriated a symbolic network, an infrastructure coming from factories of which he made his territory of research and the subject of his activity. "Ouest-Lumière" is above all about an immaterial network which the artist established patiently, a network of subterranean resistance resting on the notion of memory and report.His personal but collaborative exhibition Dynamo-Fukushima, exhibited at the Grand Palais for the Heritage Days of September 2011, attracted more than 17,000 people in two days. This focus on collective energy and solidarity, after the nuclear disaster of Fukushima in this case, is the tone of Toma's favorite topic.

Career positions

The artist is also a PHD professor and a researcher in University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne where he manages the team of research CNRS (French national center for scientific research), named " Art & Flux "[1] which is as much a look-out post, an observatory of theoretical and critical research, as a laboratory of experiment and artistic production.[2] Art & Flux (Art and Flows) reports in a critical way what connects the art, the economy and the society. He is the author of the collective work Les entreprises critiques (" The critical companies ")[3] and of Artistes & Entreprises (Artists & Companies).

Collections

The artistic work of Toma is part of numerous collections. His work is integrated in particular into the collection of Centre Georges Pompidou[4] and was put in the inventory of the National Art Collection of Contemporary Art in 2007. He is represented by The Opening Gallery, in New York. A monography, entitled "Yann Toma" (texts, conversations, 700 photos and illustrations), went out to September 2011 which presents the extent of his work and artistic flux of the President for life of Ouest-Lumière.[5] [6] His personal participative exhibition in the Grand Palais Dynamo-Fukushima (in September 2011) gathered more than 17,000 visitors in two days.[7] [8] The French national memorial created for the centennial of the World War I is the last monumental artwork of the artist. At night, the monument called L'Anneau de la mémoire becomes La Grande Veilleuse ("The Great Wake Light") and the memory of 580,000 soldiers keeps shining when the visitors are gone.

Artistic route

Personal exhibitions

1992, 1994

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

Collective exhibitions

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2013

2014

2015

2016

2018

2019

2023

Prizes and awards

Publications

Books by Yann Toma

Books about Yann Toma

External links

"Yann Toma" Monography. Official website of Jannink Publishing.

Notes and References

  1. "Art & Flux". Official website of Art & Flux.
  2. Artiste-chercheur Yann Toma. Official Website of CERAP.
  3. Book Les entreprises critiques, Published by CERAP (Art&Flux) Éditions/Cité du Design Éditions/AdvanciaNegocia, 2008.
  4. "Hors-Série "Machines" : les intervenants, Yann Toma". "Special issue" Machines ": the participants, Yann Toma ". Official Website of the Centre Georges Pompidou.
  5. "Yann Toma, la monographie". Official Website of the Presses du Réel. Publisher.
  6. "Rencontre Beaux-arts avec l’artiste Yann Toma". " Meet Fine arts (School of Fine Arts) with the artist Yann Toma ". Website of the FNAC.
  7. http://www.grandpalais.fr/en/The-building/History/The-events-staged-in-the-Grand-Palais/Creativity/p-1124-lg1-Dynamo-Fukushima-European-Heritage-Days-September-.htm "Dynamo Fukushima – European Heritage Days (September 17 & 18 2011)"
  8. "Making of : Dynamo – Fukushima installation". French Rmn Grand Palais.
  9. "cartons, invitations, affiches, esthétique de Yann Toma, CCC Tours, Ouest-lumière 1905–2005". Cardboards, invitations, posters, aesthetics of Yann Toma. Website Exporevue.
  10. "Journées du Patrimoine – Yann Toma, 17 et 18 septembre 2011". Official Website of the Grand Palais.
  11. "Au Grand Palais, le coup de pédale de Yann Toma pour le Japon". In the Grand Palais, the blow of pedal of Yann Toma for Japan ". Website of the french national newspaper Libération. Article of Vincent Noce, of September 16th, 2011.
  12. "Yann Toma et Ouest Lumière – Dynamo-Fukushima – DONNEZ VOTRE ÉNERGIE POUR LE JAPON !". Give your energy for Japan ! Website of Japonaide.
  13. "Yann Toma, artiste plasticien". Official website of Walls and Bridge.
  14. " Yann Toma exposes its CO's sculptures ² to the hotel Lutetia ". Website of COAL, Coalition pour l'art et le développement durable (Coalition for the art and the sustainable development).
  15. "Incursiòn en la ONU". Official website of Valenzuela Klenner Galeria
  16. "Wikileaks: Les câbles litigieux Ouest-Lumière". Website La Critique. Article published on Friday, February 4th, 2011, written by Gaétane LAMARCHE-VADEL
  17. "Lumière Noire". Video "Lumière Noire", French and german, realized by Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe.
  18. "Éditions Jannink". Official website of the CNAP, Centre national des arts plastiques.
  19. "Les entreprises critiques" (The critical companies). Index Form on the work "Les entreprises critiques" by Yann Toma. Official website of the Cité du Design.
  20. "Ouest-Lumière – La Collection". Official website of the Éditions Jannink.
  21. "Yann Toma, Journal-affiche numéro 1". Official website of Les Presses du Réel (Press of the Reality).